"Sometimes...dead is better."
As Jud Crandall tells Louis Creed upon telling him the legend of the Pet Sematary located just off their house via a pathway, sometimes dead is better. Sometimes...the dead should stay dead.
We've all lost pets. Over two years ago, I had to put my beloved beagle down. I'd be lying if I said, at the time, I would have given anything to have her back. Just like Louis when his daughter's beloved tomcat, Winston Churchill -- Church -- gets hit by a truck while his daughter is away with her mother and brother visiting grandparents.
When Jud and Louis decide to do the unthinkable and bury Church in an old Indian burial ground just next to the Pet Sematary, Louis decides against telling his daughter. Instead, Church is fine, alive and well, having eaten just the previous night. Ellie is pleased. Louis, feeling guilty about lying to his daughter, soon loses all remorse; the cat is alive, perfectly fine.
Well. Almost. He just seems to look and act a little...dead.
Then, in an almost gut-wrenching way, as only Stephen King can do, the Creed Family experiences a loss greater than that of a pet, and Louis -- much against Jud's better wishes and bitter warning -- decides to use the annex of the Pet Sematary one more time. But it won't be the last. And what it brings back is much more than a bit more feisty cat. And it is truly the stuff of nightmares.
Sadly, I watched the movie before reading the book. The 2019 version, not even the original. And let me tell you; the ending seemed like SUCH a copout. I hated it. I was terrified throughout and found myself actually whispering "no...no...no..." while watching it. I highly recommend it, definitely, but the ending was awful and I HOPED that King's original ending would be much better.
And King never disappoints. In the author's note included, he says "Pet Sematary" is the scariest book he's ever written. After finishing it, I can understand why. He took an age-old question that haunts everyone who lost someone and gave the best solution possible; unfortunately, sometimes dead is better. And that's not the answer anyone wants to hear, but with this book, you learn that there is something nobody should ever even entertain the idea of messing with -- bringing people back from the dead.
When my dog was put down, for about a week I thought to myself, "I would give anything to have Remmie back." When my mentor passed away suddenly, I thought, "please, anything to bring him back." When a family friend who was like a grandmother passed away years ago, I tried thinking of ways we could bring her back to life that didn't sound so gory as zombies. And King gives you a "what-if" solution that is the farthest from zombies you can get.
If you get a chance, read the book before watching the movie. But if you feel you'll need your interest piqued just a little bit, I recommend the 2019 "Pet Sematary" to start. And remember..."sometimes, dead is better."
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